Rely on experienced consultants before your container purchases

Apart from running his own business as an entrepreneur, Schroeder is one of the frontrunners dedicating his valuable time to ensure that the industry as a whole is seen as one of the safest and soundest investment opportunities in the country, with him fiercely assisting in combating fraud or the sale of inferior products.

He states that more and more individuals and businesses are in the market to purchase a shipping container for one of the varieties of reasons they are being used for, ranging from the more traditional storage and/or secure shipping methods, to modern-day trends of renovating containers for anything from offices, homes and education centres to using containers as an ideal weekend getaway spot, replacing cabins and the likes as a far safer and more viable option with far less wear and tear.

Experience is highly recommended

However, Schroeder warns that it is for this very reason, with containers having become the latest trends for all of these options, that more and more people who lack the necessary experience and know-how are entering the market, competing for a slice of the market to make a quick profit even though they have no proper experience that fully equips them to make sales with a clean conscious.

Upon hearing a variety of complaints and one horror story after another of bad experiences that consumers have had to endure from individuals they trusted, Schroeder made the decision to also provide container consulting services, to ensure people and businesses are not taking advantage of when specifically purchasing inferior and faulty containers - with no obligation to purchase from CIT.

Schroeder provides useful tips for both self-inspection of containers, and how to select a trusted brand to purchase from, here’s what to do when selecting a consultant - that is trustworthy and knowledgeable.

Helpful guidelines

Schroeder provides the following helpful guidelines below:

• What you yourself can do: A container should be completely sealed and without leakage. If the container has no windows, then go inside, close and seal the door, and it should be pitch black. This way you will be able to see that there are no areas where water can infiltrate the container and cause damage to whatever you are keeping inside.

• Lack of regulations in the industry: The container industry, unfortunately, does not have strict regulations about who can sell containers. So this literally means that any monkey on a bicycle can sell them. So do not make any assumptions about who you are dealing with and that they have the necessary experience.

• Do not be fooled by industry terms or buzzwords: Many of these inexperienced sellers will do some research online and watch YouTube videos and more - just because they use impressive terminology and the correct lingo, does not mean that they know what they are talking about.

• Ask what the person you are dealing with means by the industry terminology: If the person you are dealing with uses words such as ‘cargo worthy’ or what grade the container is, ask them exactly what is meant by this. If they stumble over their words to answer you, be aware that they might not know what they are talking about.

• Look for a reputable company: Purchasing a container these days is a big investment as they are not cheap. Therefore, do some research about the company you are dealing with - how long have they been around, what references do they have, who will you be dealing with from the company and what their position is.

• Ask as many questions as you like: Even if you are dealing with a reputable company, ask the person you are dealing with how many years of experience they have, where they got their knowledge base from, and anything relevant from their background. Experts had to take a container apart and put it together again when being trained - so be sure that you are not impressed by the ‘big words’, but rather by experience.

Expanding across Southern Africa as one of the top container companies, renowned for quality and the best market-related pricing, the award-winning CIT is constantly pushing the boundaries in the container and intermodal equipment trading.

Schroeder concludes: “Offering new and pre-owned containers for sale or rental, the CIT team have amassed a number of years in the industry. We’re able to provide you with sound advice, so I welcome anyone to contact me if they have any questions. I truly don’t want to see the industry obtain a bad name for itself.”